Conditional Cash Transfer, litmus test for Tinubu’s administration
As part of measures to provide succour to the untold hardship on Nigerians occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal and skyrocketing inflation rate, President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer for 15 million households.
The President on Tuesday launched the initiative held at the Press Gallery of the State House in Abuja. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented Tinubu at the event, led other top government functionaries to the launching that commemorated the World Poverty Eradication Day.
For assurance purposes, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Eradication, Betta Edu, said the 15 million households represent 62 million Nigerians. N25,000 would be transferred to the beneficiaries on a monthly basis for three months, which amounts to N75,000 for each of the beneficiaries.
“In no distant time, another scheme would be launched, code-named ‘Iya Loja Funds’ which would provide soft loans of N50,000 to support petty traders. In addition, at the beginning of the next farming season, farmers would be provided with incentives to boost their farm yields.”
The current administration has also promised to offset the backlog of debts for the N-power beneficiaries starting from November, 2023 which was renamed it Renewed Hope Job Creation Programme (RHJCP).
Egbuwalo, while stating that funds have been recovered from the existing payment service providers, noted that the payment would be done in installments. All these programmes are good approach to cushion the effect of hunger and sufferings of citizens in the country but implementation is always a major setback.
Stakeholders and members of organised labour often stress the need for the Federal Government to always ensure the concerns of the masses are put first before embarking on policies and actions that could further impoverish the citizens.
Aside from failing to inaugurate the Presidential Steering Committee and sub-committees created to design frameworks on such areas of intervention as Cash Transfers, Social Investment Programme (SIP), Cost of Governance, Energy, Mass Transit and Housing, the Labour has said it is also displeased with the N5billion each, totalling N185 billion given to the state governments, partly as loan and grant.
Describing how the labour group sees the disbursement, Ajaero said, “That you allocate five billion naira to the states to buy rice and distribute is disturbing. If you share five billion worth of rice with a local council, they won’t get one cup each.
“If we had accepted the position of the Bureau of Statistics, that we have 133 million Nigerians that are multidimensionally poor before the subsidy removal, after the subsidy removal, the number must have increased or doubled.
“N185 billion among all the states and the FCT, and dividing it by 133 million people is around N1,500 per person. Is that palliative? To make the matter worse, the money is handed over to the governors. We know that any money given to the governors is not meant for the people. Money given by former Presidents to governors to pay salaries was never used to pay workers’ salaries. This lamentation has continued and on and on.”
The Presiding Prelate of Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministries (SGTM) , Bishop Seun Adeoye and the spokesman of World Bishops’ Council (WBC), Africa, in a statement released in Osogbo, Osun rState capital recently expressed his displeasure over the current situation in the country.
The Pentecostal Bishop noted that Nigerians were facing untold hardship and the sad situation was fast becoming unbearable for the citizens.
“Few months of Tinubu’s government. But within these three months, businesses are collapsing, people are becoming jobless, hunger now pervades the land and many who appear to be alive are just walking corpses. The other day, soldiers were slaughtered in Niger state and some intending Youth Corpers were kidnapped in Zamfara.
“You promised to fix Nigeria. Then, do something about it,” he said.
At this juncture, the Federal government should set up an independent steering committee for all the social empowerment programmes commencing to checkmate their implementation strategies so that the people can truly benefit from the government gesture. Several empowerment programmes during the previous government had been diverted into private coffers therefore, the President Tinubu era must come out plain considering the fact Nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty.
